Shloka 3
अव्यय-पुरुष-निरूपणम् | The Imperishable Puruṣa: Witness, Kṣetrajña, and Nirguṇa
भूत्वैकाग्रमना विप्र ऊर्ध्वबाहु:ः समाहित: । स्तोत्र जगौ स विश्वाय निर्गुणाय गुणात्मने,नारदजी वहाँ अपनी दोनों बाँहें ऊपर उठाकर एकाग्रचित्त हो निर्गुण-सगुणरूप विश्वात्मा भगवान् नारायणकी इस प्रकार (दौ सौ नामोंद्वारा) स्तुति करने लगे
bhūtvāikāgramanā vipra ūrdhvabāhuḥ samāhitaḥ | stotraṁ jagau sa viśvāya nirguṇāya guṇātmane ||
Bhīṣma said: “Then the brāhmaṇa (Nārada), having gathered his mind into one-pointed concentration, stood with arms uplifted and, composed in meditation, began to chant a hymn of praise to Nārāyaṇa—the Lord who is the Self of the universe, beyond all qualities yet also the very ground of all qualities.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames devotion and contemplation as a disciplined act: the mind is gathered into one-pointedness, and the Lord is praised as both nirguṇa (transcendent, beyond attributes) and guṇātmā (immanent, manifest as the world’s qualities). It teaches a reconciled vision where the same Supreme is beyond nature yet present within it.
Bhīṣma narrates that the sage Nārada, standing with uplifted arms and a concentrated, composed mind, begins a formal hymn (stotra) to Lord Nārāyaṇa—introducing a larger section of praise (traditionally described as a many-named eulogy).